$100,000 for dredging of the duck pond in Riverside

[RiversideLoki]

IMO, the island needs to go and be replaced with a fountain similar to that of Lake Eola in Orlando.  That would eliminate the need ofr more costly treatment systems and limit the bird roosting while maintaining the quaintness.

The pond itself is used as a home for rehab waterfowl, most of them can't fly away to any sort of roost. I like the birds there. I don't like all of the trash and the condition of the water.

[fieldafm]

IMO, the island needs to go and be replaced with a fountain similar to that of Lake Eola in Orlando.  That would eliminate the need ofr more costly treatment systems and limit the bird roosting while maintaining the quaintness.

The pond itself is used as a home for rehab waterfowl, most of them can't fly away to any sort of roost. I like the birds there. I don't like all of the trash and the condition of the water.

100% agreed Loki!!

[Dog Walker]

The island in the pond is a nighttime refuge for a lot of wading birds especially at this time of year.  Wading birds instinctively seek islands in the water for night time resting because in most waters there are alligators that keep predators like raccoons and bobcats away.

I've seen at least six species of wading birds there at one time.  Go at sunset and watch the wonderful gathering.  It's quite a spectacle.

I think the island needs to be enlarged and more roosting trees provided.  Even if there were no birds, the water would be nasty and stagnant and you are not going to prevent birds from coming to the pond, island or no island.

[Garden guy]

Why can't this project be something that could be taken care of by volunteers...that's alot of money and i just wonder if some of the cost could be obsorb ed by many of us that would volunteer to help this historic pond. There are those of us out here with equipment and friends and so many times i see projects that the city pays for that if we all put in a little...projects needed become project finished. Good luck on this one.

[Jumpinjack]

Garden, I think that's a pretty good idea. It would take some time to raise the money to do large projects like this one and probably still need city funding, but the parks department is making no effort to tap into it's base of park supporters. Given how many festivals Riverside Park hosts, a booth promoting Friends of the ___ Park could bring in a some money each time.

[ChriswUfGator]

I for one don't feel bad about the money. COJ gave away $36.5mm to Landmar, and Peyton was trying to give away $40mm to his buddies that run the Trail Ridge landfill. $100k to work on a park that a lot of us use is a drop in the bucket around here. Remember Riverside is revenue positive for COJ. They rarely do any real maintenance here, as evidenced by all the potholes that will swallow your whole car, and all the buildout happened 100 years ago. It's our taxes that directly support sprawl based development, and these handouts to private businesses. Don't feel bad about $100k for the park, it's one of the few things COJ does around here. The only other things in the last few years were the repaving of Saint Johns between Avondale and Herschel Street, and the streetscaping in Avondale. Thats it.

[Ocklawaha]

$100,000 sounds like a stop-gap amount to me; not enough to put in liner, pumps and skimmers, but in this tight budget times I guess we should be happy that something is being done at all.

Don't sweat the small stuff Dog Walker, somebody is going to toss a cigarette in there and the whole damn pond will burst into flame and burn down in a microcosm of Lake Erie circa 1969.

OCKLAWAHA

[Dog Walker]

Hah!  Not worried about fire, but do worry that some dark night a self-generated, green slime monster will crawl out of the pond and go roaming around the neighborhood looking for victims.

That might be a good plot for Stephen's TV show.  He could name that episode "Out of the Pit".

[RiversideLoki]

You rang?

[Springfielder]

IMO, the island needs to go and be replaced with a fountain similar to that of Lake Eola in Orlando.  That would eliminate the need ofr more costly treatment systems and limit the bird roosting while maintaining the quaintness.

The pond itself is used as a home for rehab waterfowl, most of them can't fly away to any sort of roost. I like the birds there. I don't like all of the trash and the condition of the water.[/quote100% agreed Loki!!

Yeah, by all means, let's get rid of the wildlife that so many enjoy, not to mention that taking care of them is simply the right thing to do. But what the hell, progress has taken so much of their land, contaminated and killed so many...why bother doing the right thing.

I also have no problem what so ever with the city spending that much, (or more) on this...there was certainly money to be found for that massive courthouse and the make over of the intersection on Laura...and hundereds of other projects. Why bother with something that's not only helpful for wildlife, but that enhances the park and offers a nice resource of enjoyment for those of us who do appreciate having wildlife living among us.

[Ocklawaha]

HAVE YOU SEEN THE DUCK POND LATELY?
















And this final picture taken from near 5-Points on a Paseo Grande that goes STRAIGHT toward the Annie Lytle School. Imagine a Skyway-Bus-Streetcar station with a theater and TOD shops at the far end, in the old school... Would YOU WALK THE WALK?

OCKLAWAHA

[RiversideLoki]

Fantastic old photos! It's neat to imagine where everything matches up in these with what's there now.

[RiversideLoki]

Story hits Jacksonville.com.. typical uneducated teatard comments ensue...

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-01-13/story/fed-green-water-jacksonville-councilman-wants-duck-pond-cleanup

[cline]

Story hits Jacksonville.com.. typical uneducated teatard comments ensue...

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-01-13/story/fed-green-water-jacksonville-councilman-wants-duck-pond-cleanup

I find it interesting (though not surprising in this city) that commenters on the TU site corrolate spending 100k cleaning up the pond to an increase in their property taxes.  It clearly states in the article that the money would come from a trust fund that is funded by fees collected from air and water polluters.  I guess they missed that part and would just rather burn Corrigan at the stake for even mentioning it.

[fieldafm]

I find it interesting (though not surprising in this city) that commenters on the TU site corrolate spending 100k cleaning up the pond to an increase in their property taxes.  It clearly states in the article that the money would come from a trust fund that is funded by fees collected from air and water polluters.  I guess they missed that part and would just rather burn Corrigan at the stake for even mentioning it.

You should have been there for the last budget meeting at City Council a few months ago.  Talk about listening to totally imcomprehensible complaining.  I was against the property tax increase mind you, but some of the public comments really made you scratch your head in bewilderment of the sheer unbridled ignorance of some people.